Florida Seaplane Facts For Seaplane Pilots

FLORIDA SEAPLANE LAWS While Florida is well known for easy ocean access, there are also some great

fresh water lakes for seaplane enthusiasts to land their birds in. At Ridge Landing

Residential Airpark, we are conveniently located five minutes from Crooked Lake,

a notorious seaplane landing spot. However, if you are a new Florida seaplane

enthusiast, it’s important that you know the laws before investing in a float plane.

SO, WHY A HISTORY OF SEAPLANE LAWS TO BEGIN WITH?

It all began when one lake front property owner decided to go flying with one of

his friends and land in the lake that he paid to live on. Of course, one disgruntled

neighbor was not a fan of the plane landing in the lake, so they called the

authorities and the pilot was ticketed. Rather than paying his fines, he decided to

fight the ticket and ultimately change the laws that surrounded seaplane landing

in Florida’s freshwater lakes.

BASIC FACTS OF FLORIDA SEAPLANE LAWS o In the event that a local municipality chooses to regulate a seaplane landing zone, they must state the specific health

and safety concerns to justify their attempts.

o Several municipalities have attempted to place regulations on seaplane zones, but they did not reach the

requirements of legitimate health and safety concerns.

o Landing seaplanes is allowed on a majority of Florida’s fresh bodies of water, including Crooked Lake.

o If you have a lake in mind to land in, do your research and see if they allow the landing of seaplanes before you end

up disappointed with their rightful regulations.

Flying into a lake from your Airpark Home

Now whether you invested in a property at a residential airpark and own a seaplane,

or if you want to invest in lake front property and may not want seaplanes landing

in your backyard – these laws apply to you. For us flight enthusiasts, it’s

important to know that a majority of the fresh bodies of water in Florida allow

seaplane landings – with the exception of the Everglades (Federally protected

property).

Due to the consistently conflicting statues that have come up in regards to

Florida’s seaplane regulation laws, very few pilots and municipalities have

attempted to fight the ordinances in place. So, if you own a seaplane and are

looking for a community full of flight enthusiasts, Ridge Landing Residential

Airpark is conveniently located just a few minutes from Crooked Lake – a safe

seaplane landing zone.